Kingdoms Under Fire
by Shosetsu-ka 3-14
Summary: Another side, another story. A new battle unfolds and new heroes rise.


And now for an AWESOME disclaimer! None of the following characters belong to me. They are the property of their respective creators and companies. Which is a shame cause I think this would make a pretty sweet game.

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><p>She was falling. That much was certain. It was utterly terrifying for a moment. The young girl had just lain down to go to sleep when…sleep. Of course. This was a dream. It had to be. Not much else could explain her situation, short of being drugged, kidnapped, and then shoved out a plane. And that was…unlikely, to say the least. She calmed down, but only a little. She <em>was<em> falling after all. Dream or no dream, it wasn't a situation one could relax very easily in.

Still, since it _was_ probably a dream, the experience was rather exhilarating. It wasn't every day that you got to do something like this. Not without paying a lot of money or dying, that was. The wind rushed in her ears, whipping her hair and clothes about. She could see the sky stretched out in front (above?) her, clouds dotting the light blue expanse. It felt as though she was suspended in the air. It was all so surreal…and it was strangely soothing.

A less soothing thought floated into her mind a moment later. If she was falling…what was she falling towards? A surge of panic ripped through her body as she realized what that meant. Soothing or not, she had no desire to experience what came after a fall with no parachute. Flailing about in desperation, she managed to turn herself sideways…only to see an ocean rising up to greet her at a terrifying velocity. It was too late. Her eyes snapped shut as she braced herself…

And felt nothing. Nothing but a slight chuff of pressure. That couldn't have been the impact, could it? But the water had been right _there_ when she saw it…was she still in the sky somehow? Opening her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness. What the heck? How far in had she fallen? She _had_ been falling rather fast, but…shouldn't she be able to see some light? This was weird. Whatever this was, it wasn't an ocean. For one, she didn't have any trouble breathing, her body having resumed its natural rhythm in her shock.

Have to give this dream points for creativity, she thought. It certainly had her stumped, with no idea what would happen next. She wasn't even sure if she was still falling for that matter. All the air that accompanied her fall from the sky was gone now. There wasn't even a hint of sound. It was giving her chills. She began looking about more earnestly, in search of something, _anything_, so she could get some kind of bearings, when she saw it. A faint glimmer beneath her. It was so far away though. There was no way to identify what it was at this range.

As she focused on it though, it did confirm one thing. She was definitely still falling, as it grew larger as she continued to watch it. Which meant she'd know soon enough what it was. The dot of light expanded to a small circle. Then a pancake. It was soon after it grew to the size of a symmetrical pond that she could tell what it was. It was a platform. The closer she got the more details she could make out. It was pretty big for one. And very pretty, looking as though it was made out of very intricate stained glass patterns. The only thing that bothered her was she could also make out the largest portion of the pattern. A glass caricature of herself, eyes closed.

She wasn't sure what it meant, but she imagined Freud would. It was probably sexual, too, she thought, a little embarrassed at the idea. Her class had a discussion about him a few days ago. Though she had no problem with the theories he had other than a few being a touch squirm inducing, she couldn't help but think Freud was probably a very odd guy when he'd been alive. And her teacher too, for bringing him up in the middle of math.

Closer still and she could see four smaller pictures framed near her picture's head. She recognized two as boys she went to school with. The other two, though, were of women she was pretty sure she had never seen before, one of a delicate looking blonde with short hair grinning fiercely, the other of a somber brunette with her hair in a messy bun. They seemed to be some kind of royalty as well. Or sending a fashion statement, as otherwise the blonde's crown and brunette's tiara were rather out of place.

The young girl contemplated this as she continued to fall towards the platform. Could you really dream up new people this lucidly? She knew her knowledge of dreams was hardly vast, but it just didn't sound possible. Yet it was still more likely than the other possibilities she could think of. Either she _had_ met these women before or…

No, that was absurd. She decided to be cautious about proceeding from this point as her feet found purchase on the glass. This whole scenario had gone from strangely pleasant to vaguely discomforting in a matter of minutes. Or possibly longer. She had no way of judging the passage of time in this place, another thing that bothered her. Caution was definitely the watchword right now. She looked around. Other than the glass, there was still nothing. Peering over a ledge revealed the same. She had no interest in checking more extensively. She began to back away from the ledge.

_What are you looking for?_

She instinctively jumped, and whipped about searching for the source of the voice. There was no mistaking it either. It was far too quiet to. Someone was here. But no matter which way we she looked…there was still nothing. Dread began to creep up her spine. This was becoming more unwelcoming by the second.

_Hahaha, looking for me, perhaps?_

Okay. Now she was sure. Either there really was someone here, or she was losing her mind. A moot point, since in either case it didn't really matter if she answered back, now did it?

"Who are you? What do you want?"

_Don't waste time, do we? Of course, I should know this. So are you ready?_

"R-ready? For what? What's going to happen?" The voice chuckled again, though the mirth was gone this time.

_For what? Why, what else? To fight of course. It's time after all._

"Wait…time to _fight_? That doesn't even make sense. You know what, for that matter how do I know any of this-" she began, but was cut off by a sudden pain ripping into her left arm. She looked at it in disbelief. Blood was oozing from a slice across her arm. She was beginning to think that maybe-

_"Real" is hardly the important part right now? You'd be right._

Wrong. Not the voice, although yes the voice, but not what it said. This whole thing. How did it _know_? If this really wasn't a dream...then how? How was this even happening? She had been so sure that she had simply lain down at home and drifted off. Now…

_I'm afraid this is how things have turned out. You will either fight…or die._

"Wait, die? Why! I don't even like fighting!" She didn't even question the voice's sincerity when it said that. Somehow…she knew there was no joke in those words.

_…I know._

There was a hint of sadness in the words spoken. As if even the messenger kind of wanted to shoot himself for the message he brought. Wow, she thought. How messed up was that? Worst of all, since this was seeming like less and less of a dream (of the normal variety anyway), it was becoming very hard to keep the fear she was feeling from rising up. She had to stay in control. She didn't even know if this voice was a friend or foe. If she lost it…

_Calm down. I never said you had to fight barehanded and naked did I?_

"N…no…I guess not. I don't get it, though. How are you going to help me?"

_Well, it's not so much me that's helping as it is you._

"What? Can you say _anythig_ in a straightforward manner?"

_Sorry. This is my first time doing this. Kind of fun being the vague and mysterious one. Got a little carried away. Here, let me show you instead._

A harsh whoosh caused her to turn just as something impaled the center of the platform at high speed. Surprisingly, nothing shattered. At least that meant the platform was pretty solid. Logic dictated this was what the voice meant to show her. Not sure what it was, she moved closer. As she approached it, she realized a better view didn't really help clarify things. Other than it might be a weapon. Kind of. Right? I mean, it looks like a giant…car key she thought. Though to be fair a big key could be used as a weapon pretty easily. Even if it was weird. Reaching a hand out to touch, she lightly stroked the handle when it suddenly vanished, violet energy arcing from the spot. What the f-

"Hey, was this all you wanted to show me? What good was that?"

_Patience. That was only part of what I want to show you. Now relax a little. Here is what I want you to do. Concentrate on the image of what you just saw. Call it back to you._

Call it back? Well, it wouldn't hurt to try she imagined. She had a little bit of time to. Closing her eyes, she recalled how the object had fallen. The deep purple oval of the guard surrounding the black handle. How the guard flattened out where the blade of the key emerged. The bumps and ridges all along the sides of the blade. She was concentrating so hard she almost dropped the object as it reappeared in her right hand, more violet energy arcing out. To her surprise, it was rather light which was probably the only reason she hadn't dropped it. Hefting it, she could recognize the power coursing through it.

_That's right. What you hold in your hand is a very remarkable weapon. The Keyblade. It is** your** Keyblade._

"My Keyblade?"

_Yes. The Keyblade can only be wielded by people that have been chosen to. No one else. It is the single greatest power held by the champions of light and darkness, unique to each and every one. And you are one of them._

"I'm one of them? How do you even know this? Who are you?"

_Well…_

There was a long pause. She wasn't even sure if the voice was going to answer when she heard it again.

_Let's just say we're not so different, you and I._

Not so different? How did that answer anything?

_I'm afraid that's all I can say for now. It's not safe to remain here long and time is running out._

"Wait! You haven't told me _what_ it is I'm supposed to be fighting!"

_I wouldn't worry too much about that. You'll find out soon enough. You have some new friends to meet soon who know enough to get you started. Besides, you haven't seen the last of me either._

She closed her eyes. Fine. If this really was a dream and only a dream, then it would hardly matter after she woke up. If not…then the wise course of action would be to listen to the voice. Same result either way.

"Alright I understand," she said, "but I'm holding you to that promise."

_Heh, fair enough. Goodbye for now. And try not to freak out too much when you wake up…_

The last part almost didn't register until the last second.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean freak-"

She didn't even finish the sentence before unconsciousness took her. At first there was nothing. Then…

"Ow, what the heck?"

Her whole body felt banged up, like she had fallen down a flight of stairs. Opening her eyes carefully, the harsh glare of the room she was in almost made her close them again. The room was sterile white, top to bottom. She was lying on a bed set in the corner. Where was she? Was this part of the dream, or…no, this was what the voice had meant by 'don't freak out.' Needless to say it was safe to assume she was no longer at home. She wanted to be mad, but realized it would be pointless. There were likely far bigger problems at hand. Rising slowly to avoid hurting herself more, she caught sight of the first one.

She was in prison. Three white walls. And one set of gleaming white bars. What. The hell. She was seriously considering ignoring part of the voice's advice right now.

"Well, well. Looks like Miss Sleepy finally woke up."

Looks like the young girl had company. She turned to the sound of the voice. A woman sat in the corner, a big cheeky smirk on her face. The young girl would have been surprised had she not already been rather numb from her current situation. It was the blonde woman from the platform picture. Minus the crown anyway.

"Who are you?"

The woman grinned even wider.

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine." The young girl sighed. She kind of hoped this woman wasn't one of her allies. The girl had a sneaking suspicion she was though. Still, best to start off on the right foot.

"My name is Yakumo. Yakumo Tsukamoto."

The woman nodded, lips pressing together in approval.

"Well Yakumo, it's a pleasure to meet you fully conscious. I'm Princess Peach. Welcome to the Pioneer 2 City Prisons."

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><p>Chapter one complete. Brownie points if you figure out why Peach's second line sounds familiar.<p> 


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